Real Talk: LeBron Turns Up the Heat with a Proposal

Miami Heat forward LeBron James and longtime girlfriend Savannah Brinson, his high school sweetheart and mother of his two children, are engaged! Congratulations to the happy couple!

James proposed to Brinson with a pear-shaped diamond ring on Saturday night at Miami Beach’s Shelborne Hotel during a New Year’s Eve and birthday party for James, who was born on December 30th. James dropped to one knee just after midnight, according to reports, and of course, Brinson said “Yes!” The pair (and the party) finished the night to a performance of "If I Ruled the World” by Lauryn Hill and Nas.

The couple’s children, LeBron Jr. and Bryce were on hand to witness the proposal, along with celebs like Dwayne Wade and his girlfriend Gabrielle Union, Queen Latifah, Sanaa Lathan, Chris & Adrienne Bosh, and model Jessica White.

The couple started dating in high school when Brinson, who attended a rival school, was just 16. James spotted her at a football game and asked her to come to one of his basketball games. "I had no idea who he was," Brinson told Harper’s Bazaar in August 2010. She really had no idea James would become the most sought after player in the NBA.

Quickly, Brinson and James became inseparable, and when James entered the NBA in 2003, Brinson was there, cheering on her man from the sidelines and supporting him at home. In 2010, when James was traded from the Cleavland Cavaliers to the Miami Heat, Brinson followed her man South.

"Whatever LeBron felt was comfortable, I'm with him," Brinson, now 25, told Bazaar of the decision to move. "I just love him so much. We're soul mates."

Of Brinson, James, 27, said, "A person like myself always needs… a person you can rely on no matter the circumstances. And she's that… She's got my back, and I love her for that."After their engagement was announced to the public Sunday morning, congratulations poured in from fans.

“Savannah finally got hers, now Lebron is working on his ring.... go Heat!” wrote a commenter on the YBF. “I'm loving LeBron's grown status... nice.”

Unfortunately, some folks brought their bad attitudes with them to the new year. Everyone couldn’t find a way to be thrilled for another public example of Black love, not even on New Year’s Day.

“These two should be ashamed of themselves for bringing two children into this world out of wedlock, and then they have the gall to make a spectacle out of finally getting engaged,” wrote another (bitter-sounding) commenter. “They still have not married. Those children will be grown by the time (or if) they ever make it to the altar.”

Yet another (cynical) commenter added, “I know this is terrible... but how many NBA marriages last? It’s hard for me to be happy for them because I just imagine 7-10 years from now. I've been asking myself with all of these celeb divorces... why do people even bother?”

Do the naysayers have a point, or are you happy for the newly engaged couple?

Demetria L. Lucas is the author of “A Belle in Brooklyn: The Go-to Girl for Advice on Living Your Best Single Life” (Atria) in stores now. Follow her on Twitter @abelleinbk